NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Covington, KY
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Covington, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Covington
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Covington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near Covington begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 65 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 56% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Covington. The strongest of the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 2, 2012, killed 4 people. Of the 89, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2025. Covington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 204 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Covington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Covington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Covington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Covington: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Covington
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s16(4 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s17(4 EF3+)
- 1960s8(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 12 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 16 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 9 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 18 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 13 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 17 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 21 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 104 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 11 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 17 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Covington
The Storm Prediction Center has 204 hail reports within 10 miles of Covington since 1955, made on 117 separate days. Of these, 107 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 8, 1998. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 62.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Covington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cincinnati Lunken Airport, OH, 6 miles northeast of Covington at 490 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.5 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 43.5 inches is more than at 2 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (2%). Edgewood, 3 miles west, has its own station (Cincinnati Northern Ky Airport, KY): 45.3 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 24 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 45 | 26 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Mar | 55 | 33 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 4.4 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 55 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Dec | 45 | 28 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Year | 65 | 44 | 43.5 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cincinnati Lunken Airport, OH (490 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Covington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 615 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Covington: 402 thunderstorm wind reports, 123 flash floods, 76 floods, 11 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 7 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $8.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 20, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 28 of 123. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 279 have had fewer than Covington.
May 27, 2004: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Covington — 4 killed.
August 30, 2019: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Covington — 2 killed, 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
April 2, 2024: flood 6 miles from the centre of Covington — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Covington's 3 ZIP codes have filed 82 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $968,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 33 claims (40% of all) and $352,000, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 13. 62% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 143 Kentucky cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 96 have fewer than Covington.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 33 | $352,000 |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 13 | $456,000 |
Kenton County, which includes Covington, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1996, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kenton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.8 million a year, the 9th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.0 million (45%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.